► Creation of 3D character animations is a complex and time-consuming process, and the character animator has to simultaneously consider a multitude of factors in order…
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▼ Creation of 3D character animations is a complex and time-consuming process, and the character animator has to simultaneously consider a multitude of factors in order to create high quality expressive animation. The 12 Principles of Animation are traditionally considered as the main guidelines for creating high-grade character animation. The main focus of this research is the process of animating the 3D character’s body expression and the animator’s practice, particularly the Posing phase of the animation process. Although posing is not one of the 12 Principles of Animation, it can be considered as the superposition of a subset of those principles that the animator has to keep in mind, while creating key-poses for any specific movement of an animated character. Additional factors that should be considered by the animator during the Posing stage are body language and acting, along with the technicalities of the 3D character manipulation. Hence, Posing is regarded as an intricate process, making it rather challenging for the animator to avoid involuntary neglect of the large number of the aforementioned characteristics. This aspect of the 3D animation process is extremely important for the final creative result of the animation, in terms of character's expression, because if the key-poses are not well defined, the computer may not be able to generate sufficiently expressive animation. This would often result in work that may be subjectively judged as lower quality animations. This research developed the hypothesis that the key to create more expressive 3D character animation is located within Posing, in the Animation Blocking phase of the process. This thesis proposes that a systematisation of the Posing procedure taking advantage of certain Traditional Animation, Fine Arts and Acting concepts and their underlying rationale, can greatly benefit the animator. This thesis presents a new posing approach to 3D character animation, as a conceptual guideline which promotes the arrangement of the body parts into naturalistic patterns of expression. This is achieved by combining the concepts of Power Centre, Line of Action, Contrapposto and Serpentine Line in a systematic way, around a conceptual flow of force. These comprehensible high-level concepts make Posing and the animation process less complicated and more accessible. This allows animators of different levels to create more believable character body expressions in an easier and less time-consuming fashion, introducing better methods of more efficient workflows resulting in improved creative results over shorter periods of time. It is also demonstrated how the aforementioned concepts can be applied to a variety of animation styles – ranging from the more realistic to the more cartoonish ones. A prototype of a 3D Pose Tool was also developed, based on the rationale of the proposed approach, with the objective of being used as a visual guide for generation of new poses to be included in the case studies. Additionally, this tool produces visual evidence in the analysis of…

► The shoulder is the one of the most active joints within the human body. Recruited in the majority of daily activities either in active use…
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▼ The shoulder is the one of the most active joints within the human body. Recruited in the majority of daily activities either in active use such as moving/carrying of objects or as a source of stability during locomotion. Therefore painful shoulder or its reduced mobility and function can be very debilitating hence affecting the quality of life. While shoulder pain and restricted motion encompasses a diverse array of pathologies, the most common causes are due to infection, arthritis, or trauma. Arthroplasty (the surgical reconstruction or replacement of a joint) of the shoulder has offered the potential for improved function and pain relief where the native structures have been damaged. The conventional total shoulder replacement, however, is not beneficial for all patients and may result in further pain and limited motion in persons with arthritic shoulders with a deficient rotator cuff. For these patients Reverse Shoulder Arthroplasty (RSA), in which anatomic concavities of glenohumeral joint are inverted, is a popular treatment. However, for optimal restoration of motion, the correct positioning of the glenohumeral centre of rotation and initial setting of the deltoid length (Deltoid Tension) must play an important role in the surgery outcome. A study of the key literature has shown that despite common use of RSA, its biomechanical characteristics during motion are not fully understood. This study investigates the influence of some of the key parameters on the intensity of forces and moments in the shoulder joint before, during and after RSA. These parameters include; geometry, kinematics and muscle passive force measurement (deltoid pretension measurement). To investigate the effect of geometrical changes on kinematics of shoulder after RSA, a musculoskeletal model of the shoulder is developed and simulated. Geometrical parameters of the musculoskeletal model are extracted from previous published studies. Results of the simulation enabled the detection of key parameters in reverse shoulder kinematics and its influence on determining the mechanical advantage of the shoulder mechanism. This identified the need for developing an X-ray imaging protocol and image processing tool that enable surgeons to predict optimum implants insertion position and estimate the performance of the shoulder before planning the operation. Subsequently, an assessment tool was proposed to assess shoulder Range of Motion (ROM) and deltoid muscle activity to both quantify and validate the predicted outcome of the surgery. The main purpose of this study is to measure the passive force exerted on the reverse shoulder joint during surgery as a criterion or measure of deltoid pretension. Hence a force sensor is designed, developed and tested in a custom built joint simulator. As part of this research and to allow objective assessment of the joint, a series of tools/hardware/software were proposed, designed and developed, and then tested and evaluated for effectiveness and functionality. The introduction of a system proposed here provides data…

► There is an increasing awareness of the need to understand the experiences of women who are involved in sports that, by perceptions underpinned by traditional…
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▼ There is an increasing awareness of the need to understand the experiences of women who are involved in sports that, by perceptions underpinned by traditional gender ideology, are ‘masculine’ in nature. The aim of this study is therefore to explore the experiences of women who currently participate in power sports. To achieve this aim four objectives were set: (1) To explore the motivations for women’s’ involvement in power sports (2) To understand how such involvement challenges the traditional ideology within such a masculine sporting domain, (3) To critically explore the perceived effect of masculine sporting ideologies female in power sports affect the everyday social life of participants and (4) To examine women’s’ experience of prejudice within power sports. An ethnographic approach has been adopted to undertake this research, where participant observation, interviews and an auto-ethnographic account of the researcher’s experiences in the culture of power sports, specifically weightlifting and power lifting, along with experiences in the culture of Thai boxing, were collected to provide rich data. The key findings of the study are that more women are participating in these male dominated sports and are challenging the traditional notions of femininity. The research has shown that women in the study are using power sports to emancipate themselves through challenging the simplistic masculine/feminine dichotomy. The study also highlights that sport is still an arena, however, where ideas about gender and gender difference are still powerfully constituted, expressed and rarely challenged.

…research project will show what
I have embraced whilst I have been at Bournemouth University…

► The introduction of non-native species can lead to the introduction of non-native parasites to their introduced range which can pose significant risk to native biodiversity.…
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▼ The introduction of non-native species can lead to the introduction of non-native parasites to their introduced range which can pose significant risk to native biodiversity. The cyprinid fish species, Pseudorasbora parva, is a well-studied example of accidental introduction to a new range; it has been accidentally introduced from China to Europe. Pseudorasbora parva has been hypothesized to have also introduced the generalist fish pathogen Sphaerothecum destruens to Europe which has been identified as a potential threat to European fish biodiversity. Due to the management implications associated with the parasite’s status (native or non-native), this work aimed at determining the S. destruens origin and distribution across its native and non-native P. parva populations, whilst also developing eDNA detection methods in order to assess the efficacy of P. parva eradication as a viable control measure for S. destruens. Due to the unique taxonomical position of S. destruens in tree of life, its mitochondrial DNA evolutionary history was also investigated to better decipher its phylogenetic position. Sphaerothecum destruens presence was confirmed in 90 % of the P. parva sampled populations from China, with a maximum prevalence of 10 %. Furthermore, the phylogenetic and demographic analysis of both the host and the parasite support the hypothesis that S. destruens has been introduced to Europe through the accidental introduction of its reservoir host P. parva. The non-native status of S. destruens in Europe has important management implications for the parasite. Furthermore, S. destruens was detected in 50 % of the P. parva samples from 7 populations in the UK and identified new potential hosts for S. destruens in the wild including chub Squalius cephalus, dace leuciscus, roach Rutilus rutilus and brown trout Salmo trutta. The environmental DNA method detected S. destruens in water samples from a P. parva eradicated site 2 years after its eradication which emphasizes that preventive measures against pathogen expansion should be implemented. The phylogenetic tree based on mitochondrial derived protein sequences revealed an interesting position for S. destruens as a sister group to Filasterea and Choanoflagellate and Metazoa group and it has the most derived mitochondrial genome among Choanozoa.

► There is a growing body of data that illustrates how work in the creative media industries is marked by bleak inequalities. Critical sociological accounts of…
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▼ There is a growing body of data that illustrates how work in the creative media industries is marked by bleak inequalities. Critical sociological accounts of the industry have explored the barriers to employment opportunities for workers from different ethnic, disabled, gendered and more recently socially classed backgrounds resulting in the awareness that the majority of those who control the means of production for creative and cultural commodities are male, white and middle class. With regards to women, the problem of gender inequality has commonly been linked to women’s childbearing capabilities citing the demands of childcare as a key reason for women’s withdrawal from and under-representation within the industry. Linking gender inequality in the creative workforce to motherhood creates a smokescreen, a framework which allows for concepts of ‘choice’ and ‘preference’ to mask deeply complicated processes of oppression and exclusion. Motherhood also places the issue of gender inequality into a singular axis, failing therefore to consider the multiple axes of exclusion that operate within the workforce. This thesis takes this issue of motherhood, gender inequality and work in the creative industries as its focus point to explore how motherhood has become synonymous with female withdrawal from the industry. It responds to literature on modes and practices of work in modern society drawing from those who have equated work in the creative sector as emblematic of a “brave new world of work” (Beck 2002 in Deuze 2007, p.21) and exposed a paradox between celebratory concepts of creative practice and the lived realities of the creative workforce. My own contribution has been drawn from a series of in-depth interviews with mothers who either work or have left work in the creative sector following the birth of a child/children. The research findings emerged inductively, following a grounded theoretical approach but one that was informed by a feminist epistemological framework to knowledge production. Thinking about motherhood as a fluid and constructed concept enables an exploration into the relationship between motherhood, gender and class-based inequalities and how they operate within the industry.

…collaboration between the organization and Bournemouth University’s Centre of Excellence
in Media…

► This doctoral thesis aimed to explore socio-emotional intelligence within the context of Higher Education, in order to inform the creation of a learning development tool.…
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▼ This doctoral thesis aimed to explore socio-emotional intelligence within the context of Higher Education, in order to inform the creation of a learning development tool. It specifically explored how Early Years students studying a Foundation Degree (Fda) in Early Years, developed their socio-emotional intelligence whilst completing this Higher Education programme. In order to achieve this, fourteen qualitative interviews with ten Early Years students and four Early Years lecturers who were or had been involved with the programme, were undertaken. Findings from these interviews created by carrying out a thematic analysis, suggested that although these students had an understanding of socio-emotional intelligence, there was a need for further development as there were some misunderstanding and in some cases difficulty in relating socio-emotional intelligence to their own experience. To clarify some of these issues, within this thesis there is a developed definition of socio-emotional intelligence which takes into account relevant theory as well as findings from this doctoral programme. Within the interviews it was also identified that there was a need to provide a space without time constrictions for these students to reflect on their own socio-emotional intelligence and that the environment in which learning takes place can affect how these students develop some areas of their socio-emotional intelligence. Additionally, the most significant finding from this doctoral programme, was that an Early Years lecturer knowledgeable in socio-emotional intelligence and able to model it and apply it in their practice, was significant to the socio-emotional development of these students. Based on these findings and also taking into account the preferred type of development support that was needed, a blog called the socio-emotional scholar was developed. This blog aims to create a learning community of students and lecturers (academics) where areas of socio-emotional intelligence are explored and resources are shared, developed and created with the purpose of continuing developing socio-emotional intelligence for both of these types of scholars and others that may be interested in the subject and the blog.

…we need more people like you.
Bournemouth University, my intellectual home for the past 14… …of other authors this is
always clearly cited and referenced using Bournemouth University… …leader and lecturer of the Fda Early Years at Bournemouth and Poole
College, from 2009 -2013… …Bournemouth University. Of those, three students had
previously taken part in a pilot focus group to… …Bournemouth University involves, apart
from the traditional supervisory meetings, monthly group…

► The rapid increase in the number of ageing population brings major issues to health care including a rise in care cost, high demand in long-…
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▼ The rapid increase in the number of ageing population brings major issues to health care including a rise in care cost, high demand in long- term care, burden to caregivers, and insufficient and ineffective care. Activity recognition can be used as the key part of the intelligent sys- tems to allow elderly people to live independently at homes, reduce care cost and burden to the caregivers, provide assurance for the fam- ilies, and promote better care. However, current activity recognition systems mainly focus on the technical aspect i.e. systems accuracy and neglects the practical aspects such as acceptance, usability, cost and privacy. The practicality of the system is the vital indication whether the system will be adopted. This research aims to develop the activity recognition system which considers both practical and technical aspects using multiple wrist-worn sensors. An extensive literature review in wearable sensor based activity recog- nition and its applications in healthcare have been carried out. Novel multi-sensor activity recognition utilising multiple low-cost, non-intrusive, non-visual wearable sensors is proposed. The sensor fusion is per- formed at feature and classi er levels using the proposed feature se- lection and classi er combination techniques. The multi-sensor ac- tivity recognition data sets have been collected. The rst data set contains data from accelerometer collected from seven young adults. The second data set contains data from accelerometer, altimeter, and temperature sensor collected from 12 elderly people in home environ- ment performing 10 activities. The third data set contains sensor data from accelerometer, gyroscope, temperature sensor, altimeter, barometer, and light sensor worn on the users wrist and a heart rate monitor worn over the users chest. The data set is collected from 12 elderly persons in a real home environment performing 13 activities. This research proposes two feature selection methods, Feature Com- bination (FC) and Maximal Relevancy and Maximal Complementary (MRMC), based on the relationship between feature and classes as well as the relationship between a group of features and classes. The experimental studies show that the proposed techniques can select an optimum set of features from irrelevant, overlapped, and partly over- lapped features. The studies also show that FC and MRMC obtain higher classi cation performances than popular techniques including MRMR, NMIFS, and Clamping. Two classi er combination tech- niques based on Genetic Algorithm (GA) are proposed. The rst technique called GA based Fusion Weight (GAFW), uses GA nd the optimum fusion weights. The results indicate that 99% of classi er fusion using GAFW achieves equal or higher accuracy than using only the best classi er. While other fusion weight techniques cannot guar- antee accuracy improvement, GAFW is a more suitable method for determining fusion weight regardless which fusion techniques are used. Another algorithm called GA based Combination Model (GACM) is proposed to nd the optimal…

► This project examined the representation of odours in working memory. There is a paucity of research examining specific olfactory working memory ability, and there are…
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▼ This project examined the representation of odours in working memory. There is a paucity of research examining specific olfactory working memory ability, and there are equivocal findings concerning the availability of an internal representation to consciousness and the extent and influence of verbal coding. This thesis first describes the creation of a comprehensive database of odour normative data, which contributes to the future control and manipulation of olfactory stimuli in experimental research. Individual differences were assessed across these odour ratings, and four dimensions identified as suitable for future stimulus control. Olfactory working memory was then examined using the n-back task with verbalisable and hard-to-verbalise odours. A working memory advantage for verbalisable odours was replicated (Jönsson et al., 2011), but this advantage was unrelated to the adoption of a verbal rehearsal strategy. Instead, effects from a concurrent rotation task provided tentative evidence for an attentional refreshing process. Controlled working memory processes were shown to be reduced for low verbalisability odours, though there was no evidence in a remember- know task for a switch to more automatic processes (i.e. familiarity). However, in an individual-differences analysis of multi-modal n-back performance, only low verbalisable odours were unrelated to verbal and visual working memory. The n-back working memory findings may therefore reflect a perceptual memory that is unavailable to consciousness, and an important role of semantic information in the generation of an internal representation that can be manipulated in working memory. Finally, this thesis provided a first examination of item-specific proactive interference effects in a memory task, which showed absent proactive interference effects for low verbalisability odours and which supports mediation of an olfactory representation through odour verbalisability. It was suggested that a ‘fuzzy’ representation for low verbalisability odours results in a weak link between an item and a conflicting familiarity signal.

Moss, A. (2017). Olfactory short term memory: understanding perceptual representations of odours and the role of encoding strategies in working memory. (Doctoral Dissertation). Bournemouth University. Retrieved from http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/29814/

Chicago Manual of Style (16th Edition):

Moss, Andrew. “Olfactory short term memory: understanding perceptual representations of odours and the role of encoding strategies in working memory.” 2017. Doctoral Dissertation, Bournemouth University. Accessed March 19, 2018.
http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/29814/.

MLA Handbook (7th Edition):

Moss, Andrew. “Olfactory short term memory: understanding perceptual representations of odours and the role of encoding strategies in working memory.” 2017. Web. 19 Mar 2018.

Vancouver:

Moss A. Olfactory short term memory: understanding perceptual representations of odours and the role of encoding strategies in working memory. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Bournemouth University; 2017. [cited 2018 Mar 19].
Available from: http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/29814/.

Council of Science Editors:

Moss A. Olfactory short term memory: understanding perceptual representations of odours and the role of encoding strategies in working memory. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Bournemouth University; 2017. Available from: http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/29814/

► Local regeneration partnerships are being actively implemented by the Nigerian government as an innovative policy to deliver public infrastructure and to improve the quality of…
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▼ Local regeneration partnerships are being actively implemented by the Nigerian government as an innovative policy to deliver public infrastructure and to improve the quality of public services, particularly to improve the living standards of the populace. Nigeria being the biggest economy in Africa has a huge amount of demands for high quality infrastructure projects and public services; this has necessitated socioeconomic reforms that have paved the way for Public Private Partnerships and partnership working. Nonetheless, the complexity of PPP arrangements in Nigeria, as it concerns bureaucratic practices in public institutions; limited competences of partner organisations in partnership arrangements; and opportunistic proponents in the collaboration processes of these partnerships amongst other challenges has constituted a dilemma for the public and private sectors to balance the interests of partner organisations. In this thesis, the collaboration processes that influence, shape and impact on partnership working in Nigerian local regeneration partnerships are studied and the implications that results from these partnership working are explained. A qualitative inductive approach is adopted in this research, using a case study strategy to address the overall research aim. The qualitative study drew on data from 42 in-depth semi- structured interviews with participants from the public and private sector organisations involved in the collaboration processes of five local regeneration partnerships. Utilising the collaborative advantage concept as the guiding theoretical framework, wherein collaborative advantage imply that organisations should only collaborate, when an objective can be met that none of the organisations otherwise could have achieved on their own. The findings of this research revealed that distinct factors within the Nigerian institutional environment have led to PPP policy adoption and implementation, but local context factors act as constraints in the implementation of partnership arrangements such that they have not turned out as expected. Competence gaps and limitations in the capacity of partners to make effective decisions with regards to the management of partnerships and in carrying out the terms of partnership agreements have necessitated the services of PPP consultants and transaction advisers in guiding the partnership process. The findings of this research also indicated that due to institutional and local conditions in Nigeria, partner organisations adapt operating procedures to mitigate against the risks faced in the partnership working. Consequently, the successful delivery of the partnerships goals had implications for the survival of the Nigerian local regeneration partnerships investigated. Furthermore, by utilising the collaborative advantage theory, it emerged from the empirical data that sustainability of partnership agreements, improved interaction among partners and the efficient provision of services are strategic elements of collaborative advantage that could be achieved in…

► Those involved with the management of the countryside have an imperative to understand the drivers of behaviour towards it. This is particularly so, since the…
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▼ Those involved with the management of the countryside have an imperative to understand the drivers of behaviour towards it. This is particularly so, since the UK population is largely urban-based and yet still retains an attachment to green open spaces and engagement with the pastoral scene (DEFRA, 2009; Natural England, 2016). The media has been recognised as playing an important role in sustaining this attachment but its relative influence compared to the role of the family, other social groups and education is less well understood in this context. The aim of this research is to provide a measure of the influences that underpin this attachment, specifically to develop a better understanding of the role of mass media as a component of the socializing factors which influence attitudes towards leisure behaviour in the countryside. The measurement and exploration of these influences is based upon a pilot study, followed by a survey of 2775 respondents, in six urban centres in England during 2011 and 2012. The data was analysed in order to investigate the relative role of developmental and mass media influences on countryside leisure behaviour. The cognitive and emotional processes that catalyse these relationships were also evaluated. A structural model of relationships was then developed, which provided predictive measures of the formative influences upon countryside leisure behaviour. Three key findings emerged from the research. The first confirmed that interest in countryside leisure may be derived from early socialization influences but significantly there are sub-groups for whom this early experience is irrelevant. These sub-groups developed their interest in countryside in later adulthood, inspired by the cultural discourse of rural themes represented in the media. Secondly the research identified that the relative influence of early exposure to countryside interests from family and friends is weaker than the direct effect of media on current countryside visit behaviour. Thirdly the predictive relationship suggests that countryside knowledge, the normative and control influences of others and the media, work largely through emotional rather than cognitive processes in their effect upon countryside visit behaviour. A further outcome of the research identified a control influence upon attitudes and engagement with the countryside, driven by pragmatic considerations of countryside as a resource for housing and infrastructure needs. The significant findings from this research make a contribution to knowledge regarding the processes that influence countryside leisure attitudes and behaviour. Specifically, it confirms the importance of developing media strategy that reflects the emotional bond that people have with the countryside and targeting robust market segments, differentiated by media responsiveness and developmental influences. An effective media strategy is particularly important for those sections of the population, who have had little encouragement to engage with the countryside during childhood but are, in…

► Since the 1980s, commonly referred to as the ‘golden era’ of sport psychology (Biddle 1989), there has been a consistent stream of evidence surrounding the…
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▼ Since the 1980s, commonly referred to as the ‘golden era’ of sport psychology (Biddle 1989), there has been a consistent stream of evidence surrounding the usefulness and positive impact of sport psychology upon athletic performance (Zakrajsek et al 2013). However, the process and factors which impact upon the transference of such knowledge into the coaching environment has been limited. Thus, while sport psychology as an academic field is well established, its use in the applied setting is reported to be sporadic but with little understanding as to why. This thesis examines the use of Rogers’ Theory of Diffusion of Innovations within the athletics domain. Specifically, the focus is to examine the process of diffusion and adoption and its associated constructs affecting athletics coaches’ decision-making process surrounding the learning about and subsequent use of sport psychology. Consequently, the aim of the study was to critically analyse and explore the diffusion process, and factors which influence the adoption of sport psychology, thus providing a synthesis of research in the form of a conceptual framework. To achieve this, from the post-positivist standpoint, a mixed-methods multi-strand design was implemented to guide the methodological process. Phase 1 involved the undertaking of semi-structured interviews in order to establish initial insights into the understanding of coaches and the subjective reality of sport psychology in athletics coaching. Results from the representative sample of licensed athletics coaches authenticated the use of the Theory of Diffusion of Innovations as a mechanism for evaluating coaches’ decision-making surrounding the use of sport psychology. Information gathered informed the development of Phase 2 which incorporated the concurrent collection of quantitative data (strand A) and qualitative data (strand B) thus providing deeper insights into the process of diffusion and the driving forces that influence the adoption decision. 160 UK licensed athlete coaches completed the quantitative survey which was divided into five sections pertaining to each stage of the Innovation-Decision Process and additional information surrounding the driving forces affecting the process. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 24 participants representing the varying roles within the athletic social system. The results showed there to be two component parts to the diffusion and adoption of sport psychology. The cognitive aspect incorporated knowledge, understanding and perception development and led to a decision for or against the use of sport psychology. The behavioural aspects included implementation and confirmation of previously made decisions regarding the use of sport psychology. Each stage of the Innovation-Decision Process was found to be affected by intra and inter personal and structural barriers. Those experiences were dependent on coaches’ classification as a participation or performance coach along with their level of educational background in sport. However, barriers…

► No two tourists receive the same experience which are unique to the individual (Lounsburya and Polik 1999; Walls et al. 2011; Sharpley and Stone 2012;…
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▼ No two tourists receive the same experience which are unique to the individual (Lounsburya and Polik 1999; Walls et al. 2011; Sharpley and Stone 2012; Nguyen and Cheung 2014). Therefore, understanding experiences from the perspective of tourists has become an arena of growing interest to researchers. How tourists evolve across a heritage visit and construct their experience is an aspect that needs further development. Tourists are moving from passively gazing at built heritage and landscapes to wanting to participate in, and engage with, the destination (Urry 2002). Engaging in tourism is considered to be a “potential source of happiness and well-being” (Sharpley and Stone 2012, p.1). The best experiences are when a tourist takes an active part and is completely immersed in the situation that they are experiencing (Csikszentmihalyi 1992). Given the importance of creating an experience in a heritage destination and the increasing annual growth in tourists to such places, research into this area is important and timely. Researchers have recently proposed Csikszentmihalyi’s flow theory as a useful framework for understanding the enjoyment experienced by tourists. The term flow refers to a state of consciousness that is experienced by individuals who are deeply involved in an enjoyable activity. The existing literature in the fields of heritage tourism and tourist experience demonstrates that although heritage experiences have been analysed, there is still a lack of research incorporating the flow experience perspective. Therefore, this study explores the field of heritage tourism and centres on experiences from the perspective of flow with the four realms (absorption, immersion, active participation, and passive participation) of the experience economy (Pine and Gilmore 1998). Using flow and experience economy, this study brings a detailed analysis of the processes at the very heart of the experience as tourists want to engage fully with the destination during their experiential process, thus enabling them to create and enjoy a highly personalised and flexible experience. A quantitative research approach is adopted using a self-completion survey to obtain the required data. The selected study area is Greenwich, London due to its rich maritime heritage and all-year-around appeal to tourists. Responses from a total of 648 respondents were analysed. An experience model was proposed and tested using structural equation modelling. An adapted scale of the experience economy’s 4Es (educational, esthetics, entertainment and escapist experiences) was fitted into flow theory and proved reliable and valid for measuring tourist experience for a heritage destination. This study indicated a strong presence of flow experience was linked to enjoyment, telepresence, engagement and esthetics. First, when heritage visitors are in a state of flow they tend to be in an extremely enjoyable experience. Second, the increased enjoyment in their heritage visit has significantly and positively influenced tourist flow experience that leads to…

► One of the most ubiquitous types of Romano-British coarseware pottery, Black- burnished ware 1 (BB1), was produced around the shores of Poole Harbour, in South…
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▼ One of the most ubiquitous types of Romano-British coarseware pottery, Black- burnished ware 1 (BB1), was produced around the shores of Poole Harbour, in South East Dorset. Previous researchers have shown that this industry was already well- established by the 1st century BC, while reports documenting excavations at earlier Iron Age sites in Dorset indicate that its roots can be traced back to around 700 BC. However, little is known about the production and circulation of wares during these formative phases of the industry, a topic that is addressed by the research presented here with a specific focus on the clays selected by potters working between 700 BC and 100 BC. A typology of Iron Age Poole Harbour wares has been compiled, drawing together the range of forms found on sites across Dorset. A programme of fieldwork revealed that the landscape of Poole Harbour and the Isle of Purbeck offered a range of clays and sands to the potters. Petrological analysis of 255 sherds of pottery illustrated that the Poole Harbour ware fabrics are characterised by the presence of elongated argillaceous inclusions and a low incidence of silt-sized quartz, with variability in the range of larger quartz grains. Thin sections of 105 clay samples revealed the silt content of the clays is greater than that of the pottery, suggesting potters levigated the raw clay rather than simply utilising a naturally sandy clay. Examination of the elongated argillaceous inclusions in the pottery, using petrology and a scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, indicated they are a component of the clay rather than shale fragments added as temper. Compositional analysis of 100 samples of pottery and clay, using inductively coupled plasma spectrometry, demonstrated the potters selected the iron-rich, red- firing clays, rather than the malleable white-firing clays. It also revealed that during the earlier Iron Age the potters utilised the Wealden Clay deposits from the southern side of the Purbeck Ridge, but exploited the Poole Formation clays to the north during the later Iron Age. The wider cultural context of this change is considered and it is suggested that shifting settlement patterns may have influenced the location of the expanding production sites and their ties to communication networks.

► Assistive technologies are an evolving market due to the number of people worldwide who have conditions resulting in reduced physical ability (also known as disability).…
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▼ Assistive technologies are an evolving market due to the number of people worldwide who have conditions resulting in reduced physical ability (also known as disability). Various classification schemes exist to categorise disabilities, as well as government legislations to ensure equal opportunities within the community. However, there is a notable absence of a process to map physical conditions to technologies in order to improve Quality of Life for this user group. This research is characterised primarily under the Human Computer Interaction (HCI) domain, although aspects of Systems of Systems (SoS) and Assistive Technologies have been applied. The thesis focuses on examples of multimodal interactions leading to the development of a SmartAbility Framework that aims to assist people with reduced physical ability by utilising their abilities to suggest interaction mediums and technologies. The framework was developed through a predominantly Interpretivism methodology approach consisting of a variety of research methods including state- of-the-art literature reviews, requirements elicitation, feasibility trials and controlled usability evaluations to compare multimodal interactions. The developed framework was subsequently validated through the involvement of the intended user community and domain experts and supported by a concept demonstrator incorporating the SmartATRS case study. The aim and objectives of this research were achieved through the following key outputs and findings: - A comprehensive state-of-the-art literature review focussing on physical conditions and their classifications, HCI concepts relevant to multimodal interaction (Ergonomics of human-system interaction, Design For All and Universal Design), SoS definition and analysis techniques involving System of Interest (SoI), and currently-available products with potential uses as assistive technologies. - A two-phased requirements elicitation process applying surveys and semi-structured interviews to elicit the daily challenges for people with reduced physical ability, their interests in technology and the requirements for assistive technologies obtained through collaboration with a manufacturer. - Findings from feasibility trials involving monitoring brain activity using an electroencephalograph (EEG), tracking facial features through Tracking Learning Detection (TLD), applying iOS Switch Control to track head movements and investigating smartglasses. - Results of controlled usability evaluations comparing multimodal interactions with the technologies deemed to be feasible from the trials. The user community of people with reduced physical ability were involved during the process to maximise the usefulness of the data obtained. - An initial SmartDisability Framework developed from the results and observations ascertained through requirements elicitation, feasibility trials and controlled usability evaluations, which was validated through an approach of semi-structured interviews and a focus group. - An enhanced SmartAbility Framework to address the…

Whittington, P. (2017). The development of a SmartAbility Framework to enhance multimodal interaction for people with reduced physical ability. (Doctoral Dissertation). Bournemouth University. Retrieved from http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/29895/

Whittington P. The development of a SmartAbility Framework to enhance multimodal interaction for people with reduced physical ability. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Bournemouth University; 2017. Available from: http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/29895/

► Background: There is a need for more studies that analyse evaluation methods in the context of maternal health promotion. These should assess the effectiveness of…
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▼ Background: There is a need for more studies that analyse evaluation methods in the context of maternal health promotion. These should assess the effectiveness of health promotion interventions on health outcomes, factors contributing to impact, and transferability. This thesis reports on an evaluation of one such intervention in Nepal targeting rural women to promote maternal health. Methods: A mixed-methods approach was used where, first, a Difference-in- Difference (DiD) estimation assessed the effects of the intervention on selected outcome variables while controlling for: 1) a constructed wealth index; and 2) women’s socio-economic characteristics in a five-year controlled, non-randomised, repeated cross-sectional study of a community-based health promotion intervention targeting maternal health in Nepal. Second, the qualitative data were analysed to explore the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of women post-intervention. Finally, the financial data were analysed to identify resources needed and estimate the cost of the health promotion intervention. Results: After five years, women in the intervention area were more likely to seek antenatal care at least once, to take iron/folic acid, and to attend postnatal care. The intervention did not influence women’s place of birth or likelihood of receiving care from a skilled birth attendant. However, it did improve attendance for the recommended four antenatal visits for the first two and a half years. The qualitative findings helped explain some of the changes or lack thereof, where in the intervention area women were perceived, by the researcher, as empowered, confident, and the family as supportive. The cost of providing the health promotion intervention per group/woman and the evaluation process consisted of only 10% of the total programme cost. Conclusion: This is the first community-based health promotion intervention that has demonstrated a greater impact during pregnancy (i.e., uptake of antenatal care) than around birth (i.e., changes in delivery care). Other factors, not easily resolved through health promotion interventions, may influence birth outcomes, such as financial liquidity or geographical constraints. The evaluation showed that using mixed methods provided valuable information that would not have been extracted through one method alone. While DiD is a precise tool for measurement, the qualitative research provided insight into why the intervention had an impact in pregnancy but not at birth.

► Chickens first arrived in northwest Europe in the Iron Age, but it was during the Roman period that they became a prominent part of life.…
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▼ Chickens first arrived in northwest Europe in the Iron Age, but it was during the Roman period that they became a prominent part of life. Previous research on the domestication and spread of chickens has focused on the birds themselves, with little discussion of their impact on the beliefs and symbolism of the affected cultures. However, an animal that people interact with so regularly influences more than simply their diet, and begins to creep into their cultural lexicon. What did chickens mean to the people of Roman Britain, France, and Belgium? The physical remains of these birds are the clearest sign that people were keeping them, and fragments of eggshell suggest they were being used for their secondary products as well as for their meat. By expanding zooarchaeological research beyond the physical remains to encompass the material culture these people left behind, it is possible to explore answers to this question of the social and cultural roles of chickens and their meaning and importance to people in the Roman world. Other species, most notably horses, have received some attention in this area, but little has been done with chickens. Studies of depictions on various types of artefacts have touched on chickens alongside other species, but they rarely play a central role. Rather than starting with a single type of object and exploring all of the concepts it embraces, this study starts with a concept, namely the social perception of chickens, and draws from objects regardless of typology. A database of artefacts depicting or relating to chickens was compiled from Late Iron Age and Roman sites in the project area. A total of 508 artefacts, including metal- detected finds, were identified from approximately 270 sites in England, Scotland, and Wales, and 1368 artefacts were identified from approximately 200 sites in France and Belgium. These objects include jewellery, fine pottery, sculpture, and standalone figurines from sites across the region. The majority represented single birds, but some accompanied human figures, often representations of Mercury, and others included additional images with potential symbolic synergy. This collection of chicken-related artefacts shows that the chicken had a role that extended beyond the next meal, linking them with deities, such as Mercury, and ideals, such as virility and abundance, which people may have tried to connect with by owning such items. Through careful contextual and iconographic analysis of these objects, this thesis places chickens into the cultural landscape of Roman Britain, France, and Belgium, and allows their role and meaning within peoples’ social consciousness to be better understood. Chickens were depicted throughout the Roman period, appearing across both of these provinces in a variety of styles and materials that suggested that they a wide appeal across social classes. That they appear so often on personal objects and less on monumental, institutionalised artwork suggests that the symbolism they embodied arose from within those cultures in a bottom-up…

► With the exponential growth of data amount and sources, access to large collections of data has become easier and cheaper. However, data is generally unlabelled…
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▼ With the exponential growth of data amount and sources, access to large collections of data has become easier and cheaper. However, data is generally unlabelled and labels are often difficult, expensive, and time consuming to obtain. Two learning paradigms have been used by machine learning community to diminish the need for labels in training data: semi-supervised learning (SSL) and active learning (AL). AL is a reliable way to efficiently building up training sets with minimal supervision. By querying the class (label) of the most interesting samples based upon previously seen data and some selection criteria, AL can produce a nearly optimal hypothesis, while requiring the minimum possible quantity of labelled data. SSL, on the other hand, takes the advantage of both labelled and unlabelled data to address the challenge of learning from a small number of labelled samples and large amount of unlabelled data. In this thesis, we borrow the concept of SSL by allowing AL algorithms to make use of redundant unlabelled data so that both labelled and unlabelled data are used in their querying criteria. Another common tradition within the AL community is to assume that data samples are already gathered in a pool and AL has the luxury to exhaustively search in that pool for the samples worth labelling. In this thesis, we go beyond that by applying AL to data streams. In a stream, data may grow infinitely making its storage prior to processing impractical. Due to its dynamic nature, the underlying distribution of the data stream may change over time resulting in the so-called concept drift or possibly emergence and fading of classes, known as concept evolution. Another challenge associated with AL, in general, is the sampling bias where the sampled training set does not reflect on the underlying data distribution. In presence of concept drift, sampling bias is more likely to occur as the training set needs to represent the underlying distribution of the evolving data. Given these challenges, the research questions that the thesis addresses are: can AL improve learning given that data comes in streams? Is it possible to harness AL to handle changes in streams (i.e., concept drift and concept evolution by querying selected samples)? How can sampling bias be attenuated, while maintaining AL advantages? Finally, applying AL for sequential data steams (like time series) requires new approaches especially in the presence of concept drift and concept evolution. Hence, the question is how to handle concept drift and concept evolution in sequential data online and can AL be useful in such case? In this thesis, we develop a set of stream-based AL algorithms to answer these questions in line with the aforementioned challenges. The core idea of these algorithms is to query samples that give the largest reduction of an expected loss function that measures the learning performance. Two types of AL are proposed: decision theory based AL whose losses involve the prediction error and information theory based AL whose losses involve the model…

► Over the years Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) has gained momentum and is becoming the standard for providing systematic business solutions. Likewise, the requirements for identifying…
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▼ Over the years Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) has gained momentum and is becoming the standard for providing systematic business solutions. Likewise, the requirements for identifying business services are fast changing and a solution to the service identification problem needs a robust approach. It is known that this task of identifying candidate services is the first and the most important step in developing service-oriented business systems. The recent approaches of identifying candidate services have some shortcomings (defined data type size, unrepeatable approach, inapplicable to all enterprise information system and unadaptable to business factor change). Some approaches focus on fixed cases or certain types of organizations (single or collaborating organizations) neglecting the enterprise systems which are either (open or closed) single or collaborating enterprise information system, which makes some past approaches not applicable to some real-life business cases. This thesis focuses on solving the headline issues and introduces a new approach for service identification applicable to different organization’s business processes. The thesis also proposes a new step-by-step algorithm and methodology that identify business services derived from data-set from any given business case.

► This doctoral thesis describes, critically evaluates and reflects on the development and evaluation of an innovative approach to supporting individuals after a stroke. This approach…
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▼ This doctoral thesis describes, critically evaluates and reflects on the development and evaluation of an innovative approach to supporting individuals after a stroke. This approach consists of; a once-weekly, twelve week, stroke self-management programme consisting of interactive information provision, rehabilitation and exercise in an environment of peer and caregiver support called ‘ASPIRE’ – an acronym for Acute stroke, Self-management support, secondary Prevention, Information, Rehabilitation and Exercise. The development of the ASPIRE programme was influenced by interviews with those involved in the ASPIRE programme and the process and results of a primary research evaluation using mixed methods. The aim of this two phase evaluation was to 1) identify participants’ views as to the outcomes of attending the ASPIRE programme, using a grounded theory approach and 2) identify whether those outcomes could be assessed using currently existing standardised validated tools. Three key themes were identified; A life I like – the confidence to do the everyday activities important to a person after a stroke; Changing hearts and minds – the confidence, knowledge and health behaviour change to reduce vascular risk after stroke and In the same boat – the benefits of peer support for stroke survivors and caregivers. These themes were used to select relevant standardised validated tools; the Stroke Knowledge Test (SKT), Stroke Self Efficacy Questionnaire (SSEQ), Cerebrovascular Attitudes and Beliefs Scale (CABS-R), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Caregiver Strain Index (CSI). Statistically significant gains were identified in the SKT and HADS – depression score. The tools were useful and sensitive to change; however, the SSEQ had a ceiling effect with this cohort and the CABS-R was found difficult to use. Although existing outcome tools may not adequately measure new multi-factorial post-stroke interventions such as the ASPIRE programme, the unique contributions of this doctoral thesis to the body of knowledge are that; • An enabling culture, that includes peer support for stroke survivors and caregivers, helps individuals to move forward after stroke. • Support for self-generated goal planning, based on a ‘life-thread’ approach, may improve outcomes from stroke survivors’ perspectives. • Supporting individuals to develop the confidence, knowledge and health behaviours to reduce vascular risk can be an integral and complementary part of rehabilitation after stroke. A multi-factorial programme to enable life after stroke should therefore include both rehabilitation “A life I like” and secondary prevention “A life to live”. • Individually tailored exercise programmes to support rehabilitation and secondary prevention can be used with groups of stroke survivors with a wide range of deficits.

► The focal species of the research was the freshwater cyprinid fish Garra ghorensis. Endemic to the southern Dead Sea basin of the Middle East, it…
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▼ The focal species of the research was the freshwater cyprinid fish Garra ghorensis. Endemic to the southern Dead Sea basin of the Middle East, it is ‘Red listed’ by the IUCN as ‘endangered’. It inhabits the small rivers of the basin (‘wadis’), existing within fish communities of very low species diversity. The aim of the research was to inform conservation strategies for the species through investigations into their phylogeny, current distribution, life history traits and feeding relationships. Analysis of the mitochondrial DNA of G. ghorensis with other fishes of the Garra genus tested two contrasting hypotheses on their biogeographic origin: whether they were descended from Garra tibancia in the Arabian Peninsula or from a common ancestor shared with Garra rufa, which would have indicated dispersal from the Mediterranean basin and Mesopotamia. The phylogenetic tree clearly indicated that G. ghorensis shared a common ancestor with G. rufa and thus was of Mediterranean origin. These phylogenetic analyses were then important for interpreting G. ghorensis biogeography in relation to their natural range and current distribution. Surveys completed in 2010 provided data on their spatial distribution; this distribution was at least partially explained by historical geological and water salinity changes of the proto-lakes of Lake Samra and Lisan. These surveys also revealed that during the 2000s, there had been little change in G. ghorensis distribution, with populations still present in wadis that were recorded in 2002. However, at the surveyed sites, some alterations to the physical habitats and hydrology of the wadis were apparent, such as construction of impoundments. To assess the life history traits and feeding relationships of G. ghorensis, three locally abundant populations were studied. These were an allopatric population, a population sympatric with the native cyprinid Capoeta damascina and a population sympatric with the invasive cichlid Oreochromis aureus. The allopatric and sympatric native populations were present in wadis with minimal habitat disturbance, whereas the sympatric invasive population was present in a wadi with substantial alteration, including some impoundments that deepened the main channel and reduced the flow. Analyses of ages, growth rates and reproductive traits revealed that life spans, growth rates and reproductive investment were greatest at this disturbed site, despite being relatively altered from the apparently preferred habitat of the species. These results suggested that providing the hydrological disturbance at sites where G. ghorensis is present still enables the completion of their life cycle then their populations can withstand some aspects of habitat disturbances from anthropogenic activities. The feeding relationships of G. ghorensis were then assessed in relation to the presence of C. damascina and O. aureus in two of the sites, and used a combination of stomach contents analyses and stable isotope analysis. Results from both methods revealed whilst there were some overlaps in…

▼ At present, consumers use social networking sites to engage with brands and brand related content, this study examines consumers’ motivations for brand/product- related engagement on social networking sites. This thesis develops three motivation frameworks to explain each brand/product-related engagement type: consuming, contributing and creating. The main objectives are: 1) to understand what motivates consumers to engage with different brand/product-related posts on social networking sites, and 2) to understand the relationship between brand/product-related engagement types and social networking sites usage. A mixed-methods approach is employed through establishing exploratory sequential research design. First, consumers’ motivations drawn from psychology and brand/product-related engagement literature are defined through using semi- structured interviews (N=12) in order to define the factors behind each brand/product-related engagement type on social networking sites. Then, the findings of semi-structured interview analysis lead to the development of web-based questionnaires. Web-based online questionnaires (N= 225) were conducted in order to examine motivations of each brand/product-related engagement type on social networking sites and the relationship between brand/product-related post engagement and social networking site usage. A survey of 225 respondents was conducted and analysed using quantitative method. The findings shed light on the reasons behind consumers’ brand/product-related engagement types (e.g. consuming contributing, creating) on social networking sites, and the relationship between consumers’ social media site usage and brand/product- related engagement behaviour. A key contribution of this thesis is to construct five models: 1) a motivation framework for consuming brand/product-related posts from brands which aims to explain what motivates consumers to consume (e.g. read, view) brand/product-related posts from brands; 2) a motivation framework for consuming brand/product-related posts from other people; 3) a motivation framework for contributing brand/product-related posts from brands and other people that examines factors behind consumers’ contribution behaviour to brand/product- related posts through sharing, commenting, liking, favouriting, tagging, etc; 4) a motivation framework examining the motives of consumers for creating positive brand/product-related posts on social networking sites; and 5) a motivation framework defining the motives of consumers to create negative brand/product-related posts on social networking sites. The findings also define brand/product-related engagement types and social networking site usage. The relationship between social networking site usage and brand/product-related engagement is only found for two engagement types: consuming and contributing.

► The main objective of this study is to investigate the impact of environmental management practices (EMPs) (energy efficiency, water, waste, material, pollution and biodiversity management)…
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▼ The main objective of this study is to investigate the impact of environmental management practices (EMPs) (energy efficiency, water, waste, material, pollution and biodiversity management) on financial performance (FP) of Ghanaian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The study also has two subsidiary objectives as follows: (1) To examine the nature and extent of EMPs among Ghanaian SMEs, (2) To identify the barriers to adopting EMPs by Ghanaian SMEs. This study examines the effect of environmental management practices and its six components on financial performance using the theory of the firm. The findings suggest the need to test the theory more by using all the dimensional constructs since the result differs from that of the aggregated index. The study also employs institutional, stakeholder and legitimacy theories as theoretical lenses to examine environmental management barriers and argues that institutional void, stakeholder distance and lack of threat to legitimacy explain perceived barriers to environmental uptake. The study is based on a survey of 238 SMEs from two industrial sectors. The main tool for data collection was questionnaire designed specifically in line with the existing literature on SMEs’ environmental practices and associated barriers. The collected data was analysed through descriptive statistics, univariate statistics and regression analysis using the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS). The results of the main objective of the study indicate that overall there is a positive and significant relationship between EMPs and SMEs’ financial performance. The findings further suggest that the individual components of EMPs have a different influence on FP. EMPs relating to energy efficiency, water, waste and material management have a significant effect on FP. On the other hand, pollution and biodiversity management are not significantly associated with FP. In respect of subsidiary objective (1), the results suggest that the nature of EMPs among Ghanaian SMEs is more tilted towards resources conservation with most of the instituted measured being “common sense cost-cutting”. The extent of EMPs is generally average and promising. The results of subsidiary objective (2) revealed that barriers perceived as limiting SMEs’ environmental management practices uptake include limited resources, low support services, low level of stakeholder pressure, poor enforcement of regulations and environmental knowledge and ownership attitude challenges. The evidence from the study indicates that in spite of the socio-economic and cultural differences between Ghana as a developing country and those of developed economies from where institutional, stakeholder and legitimacy theories have been developed and tested, these theories provide the general framework to understand perceived barriers of Ghanaian SMEs. This is an indication that the key tenets of these theories are applicable in developing country’s content as they are in developed economies for the proactive adoption of EMPs. Also, the…

► This research sought to establish the extent of and reasons for community participation and non participation in local decision-making practices in the New Forest National…
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▼ This research sought to establish the extent of and reasons for community participation and non participation in local decision-making practices in the New Forest National Park, a protected area, in Southern England. Following a critical examination of the literature and previous research the concepts and theories of government, governance and of social capital were identified as being critical for an understanding and explanation of community engagement and disengagement. Primary data was collected through a series of qualitative interviews with representatives of institutions and of the local community in the area together with two concurrent quantitative surveys, one a random household survey and the other of individuals registered on an existing citizen's panel. Unlike studies of participation in society at large, the findings show a high level of participation is occurring. The nature and characteristics of this participation are examined in terms of non participation and three levels of participation categorized as; individual, collective, and leadership.
Distinguishing characteristics of these four categories include the respondents' 'level of education', 'length of residence in the area' and their views of their local community. It was also demonstrated that the varying levels of engagement and disengagement can additionally be differentiated by an individual's perception as to their political efficacy and their degree of cynicism towards institutions. These views on governance question the depth and quality of participation occurring in the New Forest and are further related to the systems of engagement identified. This research addresses gaps in previous studies conducted in protected areas in that it focuses upon
the range of participation and non participation demonstrated in a western protected area context.
The results of this research raise questions as to just how transferable best practices are and how feasible wider community engagement is to achieve in the New Forest or other protected areas where participatory principles are practiced in what are fundamentally centralized governmental systems based on representative democratic regimes. These findings have implications for the design of community engagement strategies and for additional research into community participation. They suggest that if further progress is to be made in understanding community participation in protected areas two challenges need to be confronted, namely agreement on a definition of 'good' governance and on the constituents of wider community
engagement which recognise the particular characteristics of the 'protected area' context. Suggestions for future research based on single, comparative and longitudinal case studies in other protected areas are proposed. More specifically research on non and limited participation is
particularly encouraged due to the potential such an inquiry holds for informing the design of innovative and effective forms of participation aimed at increasing wider community engagement. Keywords:…

Hewlett, D. (2010). Community participation in local decision-making in protected areas: the case of the New Forest National Park, Hampshire, England. (Doctoral Dissertation). Bournemouth University. Retrieved from http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/16055/

Chicago Manual of Style (16th Edition):

Hewlett, Denise. “Community participation in local decision-making in protected areas: the case of the New Forest National Park, Hampshire, England.” 2010. Doctoral Dissertation, Bournemouth University. Accessed March 19, 2018.
http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/16055/.

MLA Handbook (7th Edition):

Hewlett, Denise. “Community participation in local decision-making in protected areas: the case of the New Forest National Park, Hampshire, England.” 2010. Web. 19 Mar 2018.

Vancouver:

Hewlett D. Community participation in local decision-making in protected areas: the case of the New Forest National Park, Hampshire, England. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Bournemouth University; 2010. [cited 2018 Mar 19].
Available from: http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/16055/.

Council of Science Editors:

Hewlett D. Community participation in local decision-making in protected areas: the case of the New Forest National Park, Hampshire, England. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Bournemouth University; 2010. Available from: http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/16055/

24.
Shipway, Richard.
On the run: perspectives on long distance running.

► The aim of this study was to develop a deeper understanding of the experiences of long distance runners. An etlmographic research design was adopted to…
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▼ The aim of this study was to develop a deeper understanding of the experiences of long distance
runners. An etlmographic research design was adopted to understand the nature of the social world of
long distance runners through interviews and observations which were thematically analysed. The
sample comprised twenty five international informants. The key theme emerging from the data was
the strength of identification that participants had with the activity of long distance running. This
theme was linked to the search for a running identity amongst participants, exploring how meaning
was created through engagement with the long distance running social world. In doing so, the study
also explored the enduring benefits of the activity and the high levels of effort, perseverance and
commitment displayed.
A number of other themes emerged that were seen as consequences of this sense of identification.
These included the central role of training and preparing to run, and how this contributed towards
participants sense of running identity. This theme included feelings of pain and suffering, confronting
problems of injury, and the role of time and space within the participants training regimes. The
extraordinary and authentic experiences at long distance running events was a dominant theme
incorporating the conflicting emotions of failure and glory, and the importance of travel within the
long distance running social world. Feelings of escape and an exploration of the role long distance
running fulfilled as a 'third place" outside of the home and work environment were explored,
incorporating ideas linked to social relations within the distance running social world. Similarly, the
desire to embrace a healthy lifestyle was a central concept, exploring themes linked to seeking self
esteem through participation, negative aspects associated with exercise addiction, and the role of the
'running body'. This study provided a series of linked themes exploring the culture of long distance
running, and in doing so developed a deeper. understanding of the participants running experiences,
contributing towards the body of knowledge on the unique social world of the long distance runner

▼ 1. The functional response, i.e. the feeding rate as a function of prey density, links resource availability to population level demographic rates. The functional response is often central to behavioural-based population models
that predict the effect of environmental changes on populations based on the assumption that each individual tries to maximise its fitness at all times.
2. The functional response is a well studied phenomenon for some groups of foragers and many mechanistic models of the functional response have been derived to account for variations in foraging behaviour. However, only
a few functional response models have been applied to granivorous farmland birds and these models often have simplifying assumptions that are likely to be inappropriate for these foragers. Consequently, the functional response models that often lie at the core of behavioural-based population models are untested and quite possibly provide a poor prediction of the functional response.
3. The objectives of this thesis are to: (i) test the ability of functional response models to predict the functional response of granivorous birds; (ii) identify incorrect assumptions in these models; and (iii) derive new functional response models that better describe the observed behaviour of these foragers.
4. Here I have found that many of the underlying assumptions of simple functional response models are inappropriate for granivorous birds and several new mechanistic models have been derived that attempt to describe the behaviour more accurately. Vigilance was shown to frequently interact with incompatible behavioural processes (i.e. searching) and affect the feeding rate at low prey densities. Handling time was divided into two components (i.e. attack and process) and a simple mechanistic model was derived to predict the attack component of prey handling. The searching mode of
granivorous birds was shown to be akin to a pause-travel forager at low prey densities and, lastly, habitat structure was shown to reduce the feeding rate by restricting the searching area.
5. These finding will help in the development of more biologically 'realistic' functional response models and provide a more accurate prediction of the functional response when used to predict the effect of environmental
change on the intake rate of foragers.
z

► The aim of this project is the design and evaluation of a framework for knowledge based diagnosis and improvement planning of business processes. The outcome…
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▼ The aim of this project is the design and evaluation of a framework for knowledge based diagnosis and improvement planning of business processes. The outcome is a soundly based framework that can provide additional leverage within organisations. The study starts from identification of a research gap concerning the methods and concepts available for incorporating knowledge processes and newer knowledge management perspectives into business process improvement initiatives. The methodology adopted for the evaluation of the framework is an action research approach using a case study method, within an extended form of design-based
research for a single case, with added validation phases for increased prospective transferability of results. This leads to a staged approach where, firstly, a tentative
initial framework is produced from extant literature; secondly, that initial form is exposed to a critique producing an intermediate version; thirdly, the intermediate
framework is implemented in the case study company and further developed, based on the feedback, to give a concluding version. Finally, the concluding framework is
validated by a panel of experts. Additionally, by reflecting on experience from the case with other data collected in the study, recommended guidelines for
implementation are assembled. The principle contribution to theory is the bridging of the research gap identified by
introducing a new framework that advances the understanding of the link between knowledge management and business process improvement. The study also contributes an extended design-based research methodology by incorporating the
single case and validation phases. The contribution to practice is an implementable and effective framework which will help guide knowledge management support in
knowledge-intensive organisations. Potential further research directions are suggested.

► Background: Back pain is a common disorder, affecting up to 2 in 3 of the adult population, with the general practitioners (GPs) being the first…
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▼ Background: Back pain is a common disorder, affecting up to 2 in 3 of the adult population, with the general practitioners (GPs) being the first point of contact for help. Bio-psychosocial management of back pain has been shown to be problematic. Meeting patients‟ expectations is alleged to play a vital role in concordance, adherence and satisfaction with the given treatment; a more potent aspect, however, could be a state of matched patient-GP expectations, which could have an influential effect on the process and outcome of the medical consultation. This aspect, however, has not been fully investigated in the literature and further research is needed to discern the potential importance of this matching on different aspects of the consultation.
Methods: The main aim of the study was to investigate the matching of patient-GP expectations related to the back pain consultation in primary care by means of (1) developing a structured questionnaire that can measure this matching; (2) using the tool to measure the matching of patient-GP expectations; and (3) exploring the perceived importance of such matched expectations on different aspects of the consultation. Using a mixed methods sequential nested design, 11 GPs and 57 back pain patients (from 11 general practices in the South of England) completed the Expectations Questionnaire (EQ) that measured the matching of their expectations. Telephone interviews were then used for exploring the perceived importance of this matching. The study tested the hypothesis that the matching of patients‟ and GPs‟ expectations was perceived as an important attribute for a successful back pain consultation in primary care, from the patients‟ and GPs‟ perspectives.
Results: The study showed that the EQ can be used as a valid and reliable tool for measuring the matching of patient-GP expectations. The results showed that patients and GPs had mismatched expectations regarding one third of the EQ items. These were mainly related to the psychosocial aspect of the management. The data suggested a trend within the back pain consultations, where patients were less likely to express their expectations and the GPs were less likely to enquire about any unmet expectations at the end of the visit, which could render many expectations unaddressed and unmet. Thematic data analysis revealed several emerging themes with regard to the importance of matched expectations, namely, enhanced communication, trust, empathy, satisfaction and adherence, and have identified different or lack of agendas, time, caseload, cultural and language variations and continuity of care as possible barriers to this matching.
Conclusion: The study revealed several convergences, but also identified a significant mismatch between patients‟ and GPs‟ expectations. Matched expectations were perceived as a significant indicator of the quality of the back pain consultation. Considering the many challenges and difficulties in managing back pain in general practice, a state of matched patient-GP expectations has the potential for…

…Bournemouth University) & Professor Alan Breen (Professor of
Musculoskeletal Health Care… …and Social Care, Bournemouth University, for the
interesting discussions, useful advice… …Bournemouth University for their valuable advices, continuous help, support and
never failing… …School of Health
and Social Care, Bournemouth University for providing full funding of my…

► This thesis investigates a framework for generating reliefs. Relief is a special kind of sculptured artwork consisting of shapes carved on a surface so as…
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▼ This thesis investigates a framework for generating reliefs. Relief is a special kind of sculptured artwork consisting of shapes carved on a surface so as to stand out from the surrounding background. Traditional relief creation is done by hand and is therefore a laborious process. In addition, hand-made reliefs are hard to modify. Contrasted with this, digital relief can offer more flexibility as well as a less laborious alternative and can be easily adjusted. This thesis reviews existing work and offers a framework to tackle the problem of generating three types of reliefs: bas reliefs, high reliefs and sunken reliefs. Considerably enhanced by incorporating gradient operations, an efficient bas relief generation method has been proposed, based on 2D images. An improvement of bas relief and high relief generation method based on 3D models has been provided as well, that employs mesh representation to process the model. This thesis is innovative in describing and evaluating sunken relief
generation techniques. Two types of sunken reliefs have been generated: one is created with pure engraved lines, and the other is generated with smooth height transition between lines. The latter one is more complex to implement,
and includes three elements: a line drawing image provides a input for contour lines; a rendered Lambertian image shares the same light direction of the relief and sets the visual cues and a depth image conveys the height information. These three elements have been combined to generate final sunken reliefs. It is the first time in computer graphics that a method for digital sunken relief
generation has been proposed. The main contribution of this thesis is to have proposed a systematic framework to generate all three types of reliefs. Results of this work can potentially provide references for craftsman, and this work could be beneficial for relief creation in the fields of both entertainment and manufacturing.

► The Model Driven Architecture (MDA) is offered as one way forward in software systems modelling to connect software design with the business domain. The general…
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▼ The Model Driven Architecture (MDA) is offered as one way forward in software systems modelling to connect software design with the business domain. The general focus of the MDA is the development of software systems by performing transformations between software design models, and the automatic generation of application code from those models. Software systems are provided by developers, whose
experience and models are not always in line with those of other stakeholders, which presents a challenge for the community. From reviewing the available literature, it is found that whilst many models and notations are available, those that are significantly supported by the MDA may not be best for use by non technical stakeholders. In addition, the MDA does not explicitly consider requirements and specification. This research begins by investigating the adequacy of the MDA requirements phase and examining the
feasibility of incorporating a requirements definition, specifically focusing upon model transformations. MDA
artefacts were found to serve better the software community and requirements were not appropriately integrated within the MDA, with significant extension upstream being required in order to sufficiently accommodate the business user in terms of a requirements definition. Therefore, an extension to the MDA framework is offered that directly addresses Requirements Engineering (RE), including the distinction of
analysis from design, highlighting the importance of specification. This extension is suggested to further the
utility of the MDA by making it accessible to a wider audience upstream, enabling specification to be a direct
output from business user involvement in the requirements phase of the MDA. To demonstrate applicability, this research illustrates the framework extension with the provision of a method and discusses the use of the
approach in both academic and commercial settings. The results suggest that such an extension is academically viable in facilitating the move from analysis into the design of software systems, accessible for business use and beneficial in industry by allowing for the involvement of the client in producing models sufficient enough for use in the development of software systems using MDA tools and techniques.

► The staging of many sport events ranging from small to mega-events, increasingly rely on the availability of a workforce of unpaid helpers. Whilst much research…
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▼ The staging of many sport events ranging from small to mega-events, increasingly rely on the availability of a workforce of unpaid helpers. Whilst much research has been carried out in the past regarding the reason why people decide to volunteer at sport events, little is known about how this type of volunteering is experienced by the individual. Adopting an experiential focus, this study contributes to the existing body of knowledge and enhances the understanding of this particular form of volunteering by exploring the question ―What it is like to be a sport event volunteer?‖ Using different strands of the concept and theory of role to serve as parameters for this study, the lived experiences of volunteers who assisted at the World Firefighters Games 2008 are analysed and discussed.
The research approach that was adopted for this study draws from the work of Hans-Georg Gadamer in form of hermeneutic phenomenology which is an interpretative approach towards collecting and analysing data about a specific phenomenon. Incorporating the hermeneutic circle that advocates the idea that understanding of a phenomenon is co-created by both the researcher and the research participants, hermeneutic phenomenology is concerned with exploring rather than merely describing contextual aspects and structures of lived experiences.
A total of eighteen semi-structured interviews involving volunteers who helped with the World Firefighters Games 2008 in Liverpool, were conducted. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Using the approach of Van Manen towards analysing the collected data, a number of themes and subthemes emerged which are presented in the thesis in manner that reflects the nature of the hermeneutic circle.
Besides providing a working definition of the term ―sport event volunteering‖, the findings of the study critically evaluate the meaning that the volunteers attach to the role and how they make sense of their role as helpers involved in staging large sporting events. The interpretation of the collected data suggests that the enactment of the volunteer role is informed by individuals expectations and needs, e.g. with regards to role allocation, trust, recognition and reciprocity, and the experience of anti-climax and loss after their volunteer engagement has come to an end. Furthermore, the critical synthesis of how the individual manages his/her volunteer role suggests that sport event volunteers can be understood as ―bricoleurs‖ who craft rather than merely take and perform this particular role.
Beside contributing to existing research on sport event volunteering with these findings and by identifying further research avenues relating to sport event volunteering that can be explored in future, the findings of these studies might inform the work of practitioners in the respective research fields.